How Michael Jordan fought Bulls' caution after returning from a broken foot in 1986: 'It was like taking a stallion and putting him in a small box'

Michael Jordan was not cut from the same cloth as most players. His drive and determination for greatness pushed him to constantly surpass his limits, even when it came to injuries. In fact, Jordan's ability to play through pain was a source of great consternation and frustration for the Chicago Bulls front office.

Mark Vancil, the renowned author of "Rare Air: Michael on Michael," shared on Stacey King's podcast how Jordan's relentless mindset often caused the team's management to disagree with him.

Early in his sophomore season, during a game against the Golden State Warriors, Jordan broke his foot and missed 64 games. While the Bulls' decision-makers, led by owner Jerry Reinsdorf and general manager Jerry Krause, had wanted the former Tar Heel to sit the rest of the season out, MJ would have none of it. The two parties eventually compromised: Jordan would be allowed to return but would play on a strict minutes restriction—a stipulation that "Air Jordan" grew furious with.

MJ was like a caged stallion

As weeks and months passed after his injury, MJ grew anxious about being on the sidelines. One has to understand that Jordan possessed a competitive fire unlike any other, and the sight of the Bulls struggling to win was eating away at him. He longed to be out on the court but was helpless until his foot healed.

"It was like taking a stallion and putting him in a small box, you know? He couldn't do anything. He had his foot in a cast for, gosh, months," Vancil recalled.

As he recovered and his foot improved, Jordan asked the Bulls to allow him to rehab at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina. Unbeknownst to management, "His Airness" did more than just go through some stretches and light workouts at Chapel Hill. He also played pickup games against college players, something that didn't sit well with Reinsdorf and Krause.

"When the cast came off, he did everything he was supposed to do. Then, he started playing down in North Carolina. I remember one night—he had been playing, and no one knew—we were at Jerry Reinsdorf's office, his business office, at midnight on a conference call. Krause and Reinsdorf, along with us and the reporters, were listening in with the three doctors. The whole thing was absurd," Mark shared. "And then, it came out that he had been playing, and, you know, they were furious."

MJ knew his body better than anyone

While the Bulls' management was furious upon learning of their star player's activities, Vancil was left in awe of MJ's understanding of his physique and health. In today's world, a broken foot is often a season-ending setback. But for Jordan, it was anything but.

"You see guys today where they get a sprained ankle, and they're not back for three weeks. Or they have a little knee tendonitis, and it's a month. He had stuff that, I'm sure you saw, would have sidelined an average guy for a long time, and he played through it," Vancil said. "It's like he had some interesting understanding of his body and how it felt."

After a rough regular season in which he had to play less than his full load, Jordan was finally uncaged in the postseason. The Boston Celtics then incurred MJ's wrath as he averaged an eye-popping 43.7 points, including the historic 63-point outing in Game 2.